What is spinal decompression therapy and how can it help you?
Perhaps before we talk about spinal decompression therapy, we should take a brief moment to talk about who might benefit from this treatment and why. As its name suggests, spinal decompression therapy is a treatment for spinal problems associated with pressure or compression. There are a number of different spinal ailments that are the result of compression of the nerves exiting the spine. The most common are herniated discs, spinal stenosis, sciatica, and pinched nerves.
While the exact mechanisms of these various conditions are different, ultimately they all involve pressure or compression of the spinal nerve roots. Surgical spinal decompression techniques exist, but this article will focus on the non-surgical methods available to decompress the spine. Many times these non-surgical techniques can reduce or eliminate the need for surgery. Several studies suggest that the techniques we are about to discuss can reduce the need for back surgery from 47 to 60 percent. So, in theory, the more widespread use of non-surgical spinal decompression strategies could effectively eliminate the need for about one in two spinal surgery procedures. That’s great news for people suffering from pinched spinal nerves, regardless of the cause of the compression.
So how does it all work? The basic concept is really quite simple. A nerve coming out of the spinal column is compressed by a faulty disc, spinal spondylosis stenosis, a fancy name for spinal arthritis. Pressure on the nerve causes it to swell and chemical changes occur in the nerve that make it hyperexcitable. The result is pain, lots of it, and also numbness and even weakness in the lower back, hip, and leg muscles. Depending on the nature of the nerve compression and the amount of chemical changes that occur in each patient’s compressed nerve, signs and symptoms will vary from patient to patient. The important thing to remember is that the first job is to decompress the nerve. Then the inflammation and chemical changes need to be addressed in order for the body to heal properly.
Step One – Take pressure off the spinal nerve to stop ongoing nerve damage. There are several ways to relieve pressure on a pinched nerve. The general term for this is called spinal decompression; we really should call it spinal nerve decompression therapy. Because it is more accurate to say that we decompressed the spinal nerve than to say that we decompressed the spine. So how do we decompress spinal nerves? The answer is simple. Apply traction. Spinal traction has been used to treat nerve compression back pain for thousands of years.
The larger question is how to most efficiently apply traction to the spine to decompress the spinal nerves effectively. There are different ways.
You probably remember seeing images of patients hanging in slings with pulleys and weights. This old style of traction has been dismissed as ineffective, probably because it was ineffective in truly separating the vertebrae and causing decompression of the spinal nerve roots.
Then there are some home-based spinal decompression methods. The two most popular are inversion machines that turn you face down and have gravity distract the spine instead of compressing it and large exercise balls that can be used to lengthen the spine through exercise. Both have pros and cons and, for our discussion, these should be relegated to follow-up home use after a course of true medical spinal decompression therapy.
That leaves two professional technologies competing to provide spinal decompression therapy in a medical setting. One therapy is called Spinal Decompression Therapy. It consists of a table similar to a traction and uses computerized sensors to monitor muscle contraction. This is important because when you begin to apply traction to the spine, a reflex occurs in the back muscles that resists the decompression force. This is called the muscle stretch reflex. Therefore, this control of the muscle stretch reflex is important to provide effective force to decompress the pinched spine and nerves. The spinal decompression equipment synchronizes the traction with the relaxation of the muscles. Without considering this reflex muscle contraction, the force used to decompress the spine will only pull on the spinal muscles and will not actually decompress the pinched nerve.
In fact, some scientists believe that old-school pulling didn’t produce great results because they couldn’t overcome the reflex muscle contraction that occurs when the spinal muscles are stretched. If this were the case, traditional traction devices merely stretched the muscles in the back and did very little to decompress the nerves in the spine. Modern spinal decompression equipment appears to have overcome this obstacle to true spinal nerve decompression.
An alternative to spinal decompression treatment tables is a technique called flexion-distraction therapy. Flexion distraction therapy is unique in that it is one of the only forms of decompression that treats the patient while they are prone. This is important for a couple of reasons.
We just discussed the muscle stretch reflex in the spinal muscles that causes them to contract and resist decompression of the spine. There are many more reflexes associated with muscles. Another important reflex is called the agonist-antagonist reflex. Simply put, this is a reflex that causes the back muscle to relax when the stomach muscles shorten. This reflex may be one reason why flexion distraction therapy can have profound effects on pinched spinal nerves.
While the patient is face down on the table, the flexion distraction table flexes slightly. This has the effect of shortening the stomach muscles and causing a reflex relaxation of the back muscles. By slightly flexing the spine before applying traction, flexion distraction therapy abrogates or greatly reduces the muscle stretch reflex in the back muscles. So, once the spine is slightly flexed, the tensile strength of the back muscles is minimized and the spinal nerves can be effectively decompressed. Another advantage of flexion distraction therapy is that the flexion motion of the table mechanically opens the canal where most spinal nerve compression occurs.
So, the properties of flexion distraction therapy that make it ideal for spinal decompression is that by the nature of the procedure, relaxation of the back muscles and resistance to distraction and the area of maximum compression are eliminated. of the nerve is mechanically enlarged, all of which adds to the effectiveness. of decompression of the spinal nerve root.
Both spinal decompression technology and flexion distraction technology for non-surgical spinal nerve root decompression can be very effective in reducing pain and other symptoms associated with spinal nerve root compression. They are usually given with additional therapies that are designed to reduce nerve inflammation and restore proper nerve chemistry. It is worth looking into either one before considering surgery to decompress pinched spinal nerves.
Research supports the efficacy of these two competing techniques for non-surgical decompression of spinal nerve roots.
